


Things Are Going To Be Okay

by NotEvenThat



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chara Has Issues, Chara Has Their Own Body, Implied Chara/Frisk - Freeform, Nonbinary Chara and Frisk, Other, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Protective Frisk, Protective Sans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:17:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8380057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotEvenThat/pseuds/NotEvenThat
Summary: Chara and Frisk have lived on the surface for a while now but sometimes Chara still wakes up screaming.





	

There were days when Chara couldn't function.

Days where Chara would wake up after another fitful night of sleep, another night of seeing blood and dust that Chara knew, logically, wasn't there and they just couldn't face the world. They couldn’t go outside and watch everyone smile and laugh like everything was okay. They couldn't go outside and stand there while Papyrus tried to dragged them into the kitchen. They couldn't stand there while Mom and Dad hugged them like Chara had never watched them to dust. Like Chara had never decided to kill them all.

Of course, most of them didn't know that. They knew something happened. Something about timelines, something that Chara and Frisk both didn't like to talk about. Sans and Alphys were the only people who knew the full story. After Frisk and Chara reset for the last time and freed everyone Alphys had been the one to fix Chara's body and force their soul back in. Sans.. Sans just knew. He always just knew.

In the beginning, Chara had forced themself to get up. Forced themself to go about the day like nothing was happening. It never went well. Chara would spend the day flinching whenever anyone spoke, jumping away from attacks that weren't real, moving to fight before they understood that it wasn't really happening. Once, with Sans, Chara had even tried to attack him.

Sans dodged it. He jumped back and just stared at Chara like.. Like he was back in the Judgment Hall too. Like for a second he couldn't remember anything but that fight. That's when Chara knew he could remember it. Alphys had been told what happened but she didn't remember it. She didn't remember the dust, the horror, children screaming.. But Sans could. He remembered all of it and still when they were at Grillbys Sans would throw his arm around them and laugh, he would whisper puns to Chara when they were forced to attend meetings at the ministry, he would smile when Papyrus and Chara tried to cook at night.

After that Sans was always careful to let Chara know he was there. He would laugh loudly as him and Frisk walked in or give Chara a quiet ‘hey kid’ before touching their arm. No one ever noticed that Sans was different with Chara but they did.

After that incident Chara decided it was best to stay home when they didn't feel completely right. At first everyone was worried. The third day Chara had to actually cancel plans to stay home mom and dad had shown up. They took one look at the bags under Charas eyes and tried to force them to come outside, claiming it would make them ‘feel better’. Chara couldn’t remember what they yelled. All they could remember was staring at them at seeing them die over and over again. When they left finally Chara saw Sans pull them aside and they never tried it again.

Eventually everyone accept it though. They all just accepted without really knowing why that sometimes Chara couldn't stand to be around them. Which, is why Chara knew they made a terrible mistake. They could tell today was a bad day the second they woke up gasping and shoving back at invisible things but they couldn't stay in today.. Chara had just enough time to clear their head before Frisk bounded into Charas room smiling and tugging them into the kitchen.

See, today was Frisks birthday. That's how Chara ended up here, sitting in Grillbys warm bar, watching Frisk laugh and smile with everyone they knew, feeling like they wanted to claw their own eyes out. Frisk normally noticed when Chara was overwhelmed. It seemed ever since they crossed the barrier Frisk had made it their mission to protect Chara, to try and find a way to make Chara more happy here, even just a little bit but today Frisk was distracted. This morning, when the coffee was still brewing and the house was still quiet, Frisk had grabbed Charas hand and asked if they were alright. Chara said yes, of course. It was Frisks birthday after all. They had to be okay.

Minutes later their calm house was filled with people wishing Frisk a happy birthday. Eventually almost everyone they knew was there and they were forced to move to Grillbys for lack of space (Grillbys had drinks and presents anyway. So no one really minded). When they arrived Chara made sure to sit next to Sans. Frisk had looked at Chara for a moment, obviously sad that Chara didn't sit next to them like normal but then there were presents shoved into Frisks lap and it was all forgotten.

Sans had been watching Chara the whole time, casually but constantly. He smiled when he was supposed to and he threw puns out enough to make sure no one noticed he was preoccupied but he kept his attention on Chara. He didn't actually say anything until ten minutes later.

Papyrus had come up behind them without Chara noticing. His bony hand fell on Charas shoulder and he leaned forward clutching a bundle of party hats in his other hand. Chara didn't see that though. Chara didn't see anything, all they felt was someone grabbing them, someone's hand tightening around their shoulder. When Chara realized what was happening they were already gripping Papyrus’s arm, holding it in a tight grip, not letting him move.

Obviously, Chara has been loud when they’d whipped around because everyone else was silent. Papyrus was staring at Chara apprehensive, gently starting to pull his arm from Chara grip. No one moved for a minute. No one dared. Across the room Chara saw Alphys look at them with fear for the first time. Frisk looked like they were about to jump over the table and drag Chara outside, not to yell at them but to protect them from everyone's gaze. Everyone else just looked confused.

Sans stood up before anything could happen. His arm fell casually on Charas shoulder and he gently pulled them up. “Come on, Chara. Why don't we go get some air?” Sans smiled gently, calmly, but Chara could tell he was nervous. Nervous that despite everything that's happened Chara was going to do it again.

Charas arm fell from Papyrus, Sans smiled at the crowd behind them and then suddenly everyone was breathing again. Alphys relaxed. Frisk slowly sat down from where they were rising out of their seat.

Papyrus smiled gently and held out one of the party hats for Chara to take.

They managed something like a smile and slowly took the party hat. “Sorry, Pap..” Charas voice came out in a whisper, faded like they were going to start crying.

They didn’t meet Papyrus’s gaze but he smiled anyway. “That's quite alright, human. We all have bad days.”

Things weren’t perfect on the surface. The humans were still denying monsters right and more often than not Chara would have to sit up with Frisk while they ranted and cried frustrated tears at the whole situation. Mom and dad still acted as though Chara was specifically spitting them when they canceled plans. Chara still woke up screaming some nights, Frisk screaming on other but things were okay. They were making progress. Laws were being passed and the situation was looking more and more hopeful every day. Mom and dad tried their best to respect Charas privacy despite not really understanding it. The nightmares were getting less and less frequent. Things were going to be okay.  
They were determined.

Sans and Chara walked outside and they spent the next few hours talking, really talking about everything they’d refused to talk about before. When Chara walked home later that night they felt lighter than they had in awhile and when Chara opened the door to their home, apologies on their tongue about leaving Frisks party, Frisk just opened their arms and spent the next hour filling Chara in on everything they missed.

**Author's Note:**

> This took many different directions before I finally focused it more on Sans and Chara.  
> Ive always loved the dynamic of a post-pacifist Chara and Sans.  
> This is a oneshot but I have MANY thoughts on this specific universe so let me know if you want more? I love comments.


End file.
